School Closures Push Rohingya Refugee Children Into Marriage and Work

Photo: UNFPA / Bangladesh

Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh (Reuters/US News) — In the crowded refugee camps of Cox’s Bazar, Rohingya children are watching their dreams disappear as thousands of schools shut down. With no classrooms, many are being forced into early marriage and child labour, while parents and teachers warn of a generation at risk of being lost forever.

“Marriage Was the Only Option”

Begum, a 35-year-old mother of seven, made the painful decision to marry off her 16-year-old daughter after learning centres in the camps closed due to funding cuts.“Without school, girls sit idle. People start talking,” she said, as her youngest tugged at her headscarf. “I was afraid. Marriage was the only option. I just pray her husband lets her study.”

Her husband, struggling with mental health, cannot provide stability. Fear of gossip and the absence of education left Begum feeling she had no choice.

A Funding Crisis

The closures are the result of an alarming shortfall in international aid. The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says it needs $256 million this year to support Rohingya in Bangladesh — the lowest appeal in six years — but only 38% of that has been funded. UNICEF, which operated most of the schools, suspended more than 4,500 learning centres in June, cutting off education for over 227,000 Rohingya children and leaving nearly 1,200 Bangladeshi teachers without work.

“Essential services and lifesaving assistance are at risk of collapsing,” warned Juliette Murekeyisoni, UNHCR’s interim representative in Bangladesh.

A “Lost Generation”

For parents, the closures feel like another form of violence after years of suffering.“Only a little bit of education our children could learn was snatched away,” said Mohammed Faruq, a father of six who fled Myanmar in 2017. “We survived genocide in Myanmar, we survived floods and fire here — but now our children’s future is being killed silently.”

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) reports child marriage has already risen 3% this year, while child labour is up 7% — figures aid workers fear are underestimates due to stigma and lack of monitoring. “Each day, more families will turn to extreme methods of survival,” said Hasina Rahman, IRC’s Bangladesh director.

Dreams Burned Away

Teachers, too, grieve for the futures slipping away.

“I dreamed my students would become doctors or engineers. Now, with no classes, they will become nothing,” said Kafayat Ullah, a 45-year-old maths teacher. “They burned our homes in Myanmar. Here, they are burning our children’s dreams.”

For children like nine-year-old Nahima Bibi, the loss is devastating. Once eager to learn, she now spends her days in the muddy lanes of the camp. “If I don’t go to school, how will I ever become a doctor?” she asked softly. “My heart feels sad.”

A Silent Crisis

As violence in Myanmar continues, up to 150,000 more Rohingya have arrived in Cox’s Bazar over the past 18 months, piling pressure on already fragile services. Without urgent international support, aid groups warn that hundreds of thousands of children will be condemned to lives without opportunity.

The warning from Faruq echoes the despair of many parents: “We survived everything — but now our children’s future is being destroyed in silence.”

Source: US News / Reuters